


Self Discovery

by ArthaDemon



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Discovery, Hollow has Both xD, Masturbation, Other, Walking In, awkward moment, hermaphrodite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-17 17:30:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19959517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthaDemon/pseuds/ArthaDemon
Summary: When the Hollow Knight ends up walking in on two royal guards going at it in a linen closet, it causes all sorts of strange new feelings in the Vessel, leading them into a little journey of... shall we say, self-discovery.





	Self Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.deviantart.com/artha-demon/art/Hollow-Anatomy-Study-807520144
> 
> See the link above for the Vessel anatomy I am using for this fic. 
> 
> Note that part of this story does use the he/him pronouns for Hollow. This is meant to be Hollow finding their own identity after being uncomfortable with being referred to as an object, and, of course, this story is literally meant to be about self discovery. Not just smut. You don't have to like it. Another reason is this; I initially wrote in the they/them pronoun. But, with there being a scene where there are plural characters interacting, the they/them got really confusing and I could not get it to flow right. The flow would have been very confusing with no way to differentiate when I was using they/them for the royal guards as a collective, or they/them for Hollow. I should not have to say this, but it has come to my attention that people are being rude behind my back.)

The Pure Vessel; a creature without any thoughts, or feelings; no dreams, or hopes, or desires. Or so… that’s what everybody thought. Most took to calling the Pure Vessel Hollow, probably because it seemed to describe them quite well. With the King and others sometimes referring to the Vessel as the Prince, many had started simply referring to them as ‘he’ even if the king reminded them that the Pure Vessel had no gender. Most who saw them, though, felt uncomfortable just calling them it; thus, the male pronoun stuck.

To Hollow’s understanding, gender had to do with how a bug sounded, or looked, or smelled, or perhaps a combination of these factors. they weren't familiar with biological structures, though observed females seemed to be seen with young nymphs more often than males. Females had voices distinct from males, sometimes, according to Hollow's observations; and for some bugs, the males were larger, or had branching horns while females did not. Looking in the mirror, Hollow observed that they had large horns with three prongs. Perhaps being referred to as male did work. Being referred to as ‘He’ was enough for them, with the observations they had made. Hollow didn’t care either way, at any rate. The Pure Vessel wasn’t supposed to have opinions on the matter. But, enough bugs referring to them as a ‘he’ in their presence had them simply adopting the pronoun, even if just in their own mind. It was, after all, better than being referred to as ‘it’. Hollow knew his purpose, but that didn’t mean being referred to as a tool hurt any less. Due to his empty eyes, expressionless soulmask and the Pale King constantly referring to him as “The Pure Vessel”, everybody else assumed that he was an object, a tool, a means to an end, with no feelings

  
If only they knew what he was thinking behind that soulmask.

Hollow was an enigmatic figure, no longer the tiny nymph he once was. He now towered over the other bugs, his father included, a truly imposing and impressive figure who was always right beside the Pale King unless he was not required at the moment. When not accompanying the King, Hollow either wandered the White Palace, or remained in his bedchamber. His wandering didn’t seem to bother the servants, royal retainers, or guards. Nobody seemed to think twice about it. He would get occasional stares from bugs he passed due to the way his horns nearly scraped the ceiling in parts and how he had to duck to get through most doorways, but he always ignored it. The bugs always went about their business after getting their fill of staring at the Pure Vessel.

Hollow had natural curiosity, like any intelligent creature, even if he never let it show around his father. He had a duty to fulfill, and he had to make sure he could do it. He was sure he’d just be discarded like the rest of his siblings if he showed any signs of not being the Pure Vessel he was meant to be.

Wandering down one of the many halls of the Whate Palace aimlessly, Hollow thought he heard something… strange. A deep grunting noise followed by feminine moans came from inside one of the linen closets. Unsure what it was, Hollow crept closer as the strange sounds started to get a little louder. Were there bugs in pain in there? Were they fighting? Was somebody infected? These thoughts made him reach for his shining nail and adjust his stance, readying himself for a fight if such was needed. One of his duties was to protect the palace, protect the king and by extension the bugs around him, and fight off anything infected that managed to make its way near. The infection wasn't too much of a problem... Yet, but one never knew when it would get worse. The strange sounds didn’t sound like an infected bug, but strange could often be deadly in Hallownest.

Slowly, the door to the storage closet was carefully pushed open by the long, elegant clawed hand of the vessel. Well maintained, it made no sound as it revealed the source of the strange sounds.

Hollow stared for several long moments, trying to figure out what, exactly, was going on. There were two bugs in there. One of the winged guards, and a larger guard bug whose greatnail and shield was leaning in the corner, their attention completely on each other. They were so into it, they didn’t even notice the Vessel staring at them in silent confusion.

The winged guard was propped up on a pile of linens and cushions, leaning back with her legs spread, feet twitching, and wings splayed out. She was squirming, clearly the source of the strange moaning sounds. Leaning over her, was the larger male bug, one clawed hand resting on the pile of soft things, the other holding her midsection against his body. His larger form repeatedly thrust into the smaller female with a grunt followed by the female’s moan.

Hollow recognized both parts, to a point. He had woken up with his own member like the one the male had hanging out of his shell. When he moved and the silken sheets brushed across it, it had sent jolts through his body, jolts that felt… really good, but he had never actually tried to do anything with it before. It always disappeared back into his shell if he ignored it for long enough. He didn’t even realize other bugs had such things, until now. He had always thought it was just a weird Vessel thing. He was fully aware that he wasn't _really_ a bug. He just looked like one. Beneath his own appendage, he had felt wetness before, and noticed a slit there. A little further exploration of it revealed that it was a hole that went deeper than his fingers were long. Any contact with it, including trying to clean the slick moisture off always sent similar jolts through him. He had taken to just ignoring it because it wasn't really noticeable, and would go away on its own given some time. He’d considered exploring these parts of his anatomy more, but was unsure if he should. There were certain parts of bug anatomy that were never mentioned in polite company, and the Pale King just assumed he didn’t have anything at all down there; thus, he wasn’t given any sex education. He didn't seem to need it! Everything he was going to learn about his own body, he had to figure out for himself.    
  
Whatever it was they were doing… they did not appear to be in pain. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying themselves, quite thoroughly. If what they felt when in such close contact with eachother felt anything like Hollow's brief explorations of his own body… he assumed that it felt very, very good.

Something about the sight made Hollow feel… strange. A tingling warmth in his abdomen, moving down to settle in his loins. a tingle started right between his legs, followed by a throbbing sensation and a wetness between his thighs. His shell suddenly felt too tight, too constricting, like something wanted to burst free. Whatever this feeling was, it only grew more intense the longer he watched the strange spectacle before him. The two guards started to go faster, their pace changing as they both moaned louder until the female's head thumped against the wall. She withdrew her hands from his hips, and braced herself against the wall as she arched strongly against her partner. The male guard sped up more,changing his angle, until he buried himself inside the female entirely, the bulge at the base of his appendage sinking in. They both moaned loudly, shivering and twitching in unison. A bit of milky white fluid leaked out of the female around the thick knot buried inside her. 

Hollow felt something wet dripping onto his leg. The bugs seemed to be finished, and he suddenly felt awkward about having watched them this long. If they were hiding in a linen closet to do this, he realized, it was probably to stay out of the path of prying eyes. He closed the door more hastily than he probably should have, wincing as it banged shut. He didn’t look back as he quickly dashed down the hall at full speed, claws skittering as he turned a corner and shot into his bedchamber, closing his door behind him.

Once inside, he decided to address what was going on between his legs. The plates down there had spread open; more than he had ever seen them do before, and he sported a throbbing erection, twitching and dripping, and his slit beneath soaked with his own slick fluids. He was very well endowed, long, prehensile, with a thick knot at the base, ridges with fleshy nubs resembling spines without the sharpness. It was more like a knotted void tendril than a cock. Surrounding it were several long, smooth tendrils, as black as the rest of him, moist and twitching. When he reached down, one coiled around his wrist briefly. 

His hand brushed along his length, making his leg jerk slightly and his hips thrust upward. It felt… _really_ good. He kept thinking back on what he saw, leaning back as he started to stroke himself in earnest. He found that the contact felt incredible, making him shiver and thrust his hips into his own grip.   
  
He reached his other hand beneath his member, and slowly sank his fingers into his slit. Sensitive and quivering, and very wet, the sensation of his fingers going in made his body arch back again. He would have moaned, if he had a voice. Instead, his jaw went slack, long, prehensile tongue lolling, antenna twitching. With stimulation to both organs at once, the sensations were almost overwhelming.    
  
Hollow didn’t want to stop, though, because when he did in an attempt to calm himself down, his entire body ached for him to start again. Having seen the male guard’s appendage buried inside the female’s slit, he had an idea. He withdrew his hand, coiling his prehensile member around to slip inside his own wet, quivering slit. At first, he wasn’t sure it would work, but grinding against his hands allowed his member to go deep inside himself, created such a feeling of pleasure that his head thumped against the fancy headboard of his bed. His body quivered as he started to hump and grind against his own hands firmly, pressing his member deep into himself. He huffed silently, despite not needing to breathe.   
  
He could feel something building up, getting stronger and stronger. It made him tingle all over, a quivering pressure in his lower abdomen. It made him clench tight around his own member, only enhancing the intense and new sensations. 

His claws digging into his own carapace slightly, he humped against his own hands at a feverish pace until that pressure suddenly seemed to explode into near blinding pleasure and a sensation of complete satisfaction. His entire body arched strongly as his horns thumped roughly against the headboard again. His hands fell away as a slick gush of fluid squirted from his slit. His member slipped out in that same instant, the bulge at the base swollen bigger than he had ever seen it before as several spurts of thick, sticky black fluid burst from the tip. One spurt created a very obvious black stain on his sheets, though the rest splattered onto his belly and chest. His member twitched with each spurt of cum as he finally relaxed, shivering from time to time.    
  
That was when he realized three things. One, that felt really, really good. Two, he’d made a mess that was going to be rather difficult to clean up. There was thin black fluid between his legs, soaking into the bed and a black stain where his cum had landed on his sheets. And three, his knot was swollen so big, that his member still hung outside of his carapace, and he had no clue how long it would take to go away. 

He lay there, hoping the King would not have any need of him until his member retreated back into his shell. He was quite sure that such things would not be appreciated in polite company.


End file.
